What Does Canada's Designation of the IRGC as a Terrorist Organization Mean and What Consequences Will It Have?

After months of struggle, Canada's Minister of Public Safety officially announced that the country has placed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on its list of terrorist organizations. What does this decision mean, what are its consequences, which countries have previously recognized the IRGC as a terrorist entity, and why now? Canada has declared the IRGC 'terrorist'; Kanani: We reserve the right to respond. Background: In recent months, Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, had repeatedly mentioned the possibility of placing the IRGC on the list of terrorist organizations. In this context, the opposition to the Islamic Republic, particularly a group of Iranians living in Canada, played a significant role in guiding Ottawa to implement this decision. However, the root of the matter dates back to 2019 when the United States, during Donald Trump's presidency, designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Although at that time Canada, like the United States, had identified the IRGC's Quds Force as a terrorist organization, Ottawa had not decided to list the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization until now. The IRGC was officially registered on the U.S. 'terrorist list' in April 2019. What are the implications of Canada's action? Generally, when a group is placed on a terrorist organization list, a series of consequences arise for that entity. Financial sanctions include asset freezes, funding restrictions, travel limitations including visa bans for IRGC members, and the expulsion of those associated with the IRGC who are Canadian citizens or residents. Business restrictions include export and import limitations, disruption in the supply chain for companies that have dealings with the IRGC. Legal actions include criminal charges against individuals or entities that support the IRGC, as well as increased scrutiny on activities suspected to be linked to the IRGC. Furthermore, labeling the IRGC as a terrorist organization could lead to diplomatic tensions between the two countries and retaliatory actions by Iran against Canada. However, since Iran and Canada have not had embassies in each other's capitals for several years and their relations are severed, this aspect of the situation is less relevant. On the other hand, over recent years, a wide range of sanctions against the IRGC and its affiliated institutions have already been imposed by Canada, and in terms of sanctions, this decision is unlikely to have a different impact on the activities of this military, political, economic, security, cultural, and social institution of the Islamic Republic. However, politically and in terms of prestige, it will have significant repercussions. Another noteworthy point is that according to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, the IRGC is considered one of the armed forces of the Iranian government, and designating a military force of a government as terrorist has legal complexities. Will ordinary citizens face problems? Theoretically, the answer to this question should be negative, but the experience of events that occurred after the IRGC was designated as terrorist in the U.S. makes us answer this question more cautiously. Since then, those who served their compulsory military service in the IRGC in Iran have faced many difficulties in obtaining U.S. visas. Given that this new law condemns any cooperation with the IRGC and does not consider such individuals eligible for visa issuance, it can be expected that restrictions will arise for those who have served in the IRGC. This is while in Iran, individuals do not have the option to choose their military institution for compulsory service. It is still unclear whether the Canadian government will adopt a case-by-case review for this purpose. Another potential consequence for ordinary citizens is the status of dual nationals who hold Canadian passports. Considering the history of the Islamic Republic's 'hostage diplomacy,' it can be expected that in the future, the Iranian government may take similar actions, detaining Iranians who also hold Canadian citizenship and fabricating cases against them. For this reason, Mélanie Joly, Canada's Foreign Minister, has urged Canadian citizens in Iran to return home as soon as possible and advised those planning to travel to Iran to reconsider their decisions. Which countries have designated the IRGC as terrorist? In addition to the United States and Canada, which have placed the IRGC on their terrorist lists, Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Bahrain designated the IRGC and Qassem Soleimani in November 2020 among the individuals and organizations supporting terrorism. However, Iran and Saudi Arabia now have official relations, and the King of Bahrain has also spoken several times in recent months about his interest in resuming relations with Tehran. As expected, Israel also considers the IRGC to be terrorist. After the widespread 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, Iranian opponents of the Iranian government in various countries have made extensive efforts to persuade their governments to designate the IRGC as terrorist, but these efforts have generally not yielded results. In May of this year, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the IRGC to be placed on the list of terrorist organizations, but since the Parliament is not a superior body in the Union, this has not happened (at least so far). European countries have also expressed their opposition to designating the IRGC as terrorist on a case-by-case basis. The argument of these countries is that a military force of a country cannot be labeled as terrorist; however, there are likely political and security reasons behind such a decision, and adopting such an approach could seriously damage relations between these countries and the Islamic Republic and may even lead to a complete severance of diplomatic relations. Why now? This question is one of those for which there may not be a precise answer; although the issue of placing the IRGC on Canada's terrorist list has been discussed repeatedly in recent years, Ottawa did not decide to take such action even after the downing of Flight 752 by IRGC missiles and even during the peak of the crackdown on nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Iranian protesters. Now, with about a year left in Trudeau's government, it has announced that it is designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Previously, in October 2022, Trudeau had announced a ban on the entry of 10,000 commanders, senior members, and official forces of the IRGC into Canada in response to the widespread crackdown on protesting people in Iran. Additionally, Canada, like the U.S. and other Western countries, has imposed extensive sanctions against the IRGC and its affiliated companies. Another point related to this matter is that according to the latest polls, the Liberal Party led by Trudeau does not have a favorable status in electoral surveys, and if a general election were held in the country today, polls indicate that Trudeau would lose. Therefore, it is unclear whether there are electoral motives behind this action. What have the reactions been? As expected, Iranian officials have reacted angrily to Ottawa's decision and threatened retaliation against Canada. Ali Bagheri Kani, head of Iran's Foreign Ministry, threatened on his Twitter account that Canada should expect 'the consequences of this provocative and irresponsible decision.' Nasser Kanani, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, also described Canada's decision as 'unwise,' claiming it was made under the influence of warmongers. In contrast, the inclusion of the IRGC on Canada's list of terrorist organizations has been welcomed by anti-Islamic Republic figures abroad. Hamid Ismailioun, a civil and political activist residing in Canada, thanked the Canadian government for this decision in a video message and emphasized that this is just the beginning. He urged opponents of the Islamic Republic to continue their efforts to have the IRGC recognized as a terrorist entity in other countries, especially Australia.